New computer system brings challenges to providers, social service agencies

Published: Monday, October 7, 2013 at 10:58 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, October 7, 2013 at 10:58 a.m.

Some needy residents in Pender County have been waiting for their food stamp applications to go through for nearly two months as the county faces a hefty backlog of cases.

Meanwhile, Janine Antolini, office manager at Brush Dental Care in Wilmington, said her office went 10 weeks recently with no payment from the state for its Medicaid patients.

Frustration abounds with area Medicaid providers and social services agencies since the state Department of Health and Human Services rolled out two complicated new computer systems that have resulted in delays in processing food stamps for the hungry and Medicaid checks for providers.

NCTracks replaces a 35-year-old system that handles the state's Medicaid billing and other billing by various agencies within the department, such as public health and rural health. Planning for NCTracks spans three gubernatorial administrations and rolled out July 1.

This is the "largest technology project the state has ever had," said DHHS technology chief Joe Cooper.

NCFAST provides county departments of social services with a unified case management system to determine eligibility and manage the case load of federally funded benefit programs such as food stamps, Medicaid, Work First and child care. It also consolidates many computer systems into one.

The first phase of NCFAST rolled out in May 2012 with food stamp benefits.

Together, NCTracks and NCFAST represent $784 million in state information technology projects, paid for largely by the federal government.

What has been a huge test of the prowess of new technology in the public health sector has also been a monumental test of patience for those who serve the neediest and poorest.

These computer systems – and their vast statewide implications, reaching into every community – will be subject of a legislative oversight committee hearing Tuesday in Raleigh. Lawmakers will get a chance to directly question top DHHS officials about the new programs' implementations, and what's on the horizon.

Medicaid providers wait

Wilmington-based Oxy-Care Equipment Co. provides home medical equipment for the chronically ill. Owner Clark Robichaux said that during the test phase everything went fine. "When it came to actual production, claims just didn't go through," he said. So he made a call to the help line. "You'd be put on hold, wait for between 35 minutes and an hour, and then once you got somebody to speak to they really didn't know what they were talking about. The staff really wasn't trained."

In a recent news release, DHHS acknowledged that an already difficult transition was "exacerbated by the call center not being staffed to handle the initial high call volume."

The program's vendor, Computer Sciences Corp., has added additional call center staff and today the wait time is less than 15 seconds to speak to a customer service agent, the release says.

But Antolini, of Brush Dental Care, says the wait for responses from the call center hasn't gotten better for her – though the office has since received payment for services to Medicaid patients.

"Now if you have a problem, with any question whatsoever, they give you a ticket," she said. "I have tickets that have been out since the beginning of July, and I've not received a call back. They just sweep it under the rug as far as I'm concerned."

Tina Perry, office manager with Seaside Family Medicine in Sunset Beach, said she can't get NCTracks to work for checking a person's Medicaid status, one of its many functions.

"Every time I use it, it's to check eligibility. There's always a problem. It never tells me if someone is eligible or not. It just gives me an error message every time," she said.

Still, some providers say what started as a nightmare is slowly turning a corner for the better.

Robichaux, said despite the rough start for his company, once the bugs are worked out, it will be "a really neat system."

"In all fairness, they have gotten some of their problem straightened out," he said.

In a random sampling of Wilmington-area Medicaid providers, one provider said she'd had no problems with NCTracks. Monica Smith, certified dental assistant and office manager for Dr. Richard S. Butler in Wilmington, said the office was forewarned of the change.

"We took the proper steps that needed to be done, and we've had no glitches – knock on wood," she said.

Food stamp delays

The state's other new computer program, NCFAST, stands for Families Accessing Services Through Technology. It's also giving users a headache, though in the past month, the state has put extra effort into helping local departments of social services catch up on their backlogged food stamp cases.

Last week, for instance, the Pender County Department of Social Services was preparing to box up some 400 cases and send them to the state for assistance with processing. Some of the cases are more than 2 months old, said DSS Director Reta Shiver.

"We're trying to get our food stamp backlog caught up somewhat," she said. "We're just trying to be proactive."

In the past two weeks, the state has helped local county departments of social services enter almost 8,000 applications, said DHHS spokesman Ricky Diaz.

Additionally, Diaz said the state has recently sent "over the shoulder support staff" to Pender, Brunswick and New Hanover counties to assist with the transition.

In New Hanover County, assistant DSS Director Christine McNamee said the state support staff moved into her office last week. She said some 220 food stamp benefits were waiting processing for September with another nearly 840 that needed processing for October. Her staff planned to work overtime again this past Saturday to catch up.

"As we get more and more issues, we won't be so far behind," she said.

<p>Some needy residents in Pender County have been waiting for their food stamp applications to go through for nearly two months as the county faces a hefty backlog of cases. </p><p>Meanwhile, Janine Antolini, office manager at Brush Dental Care in Wilmington, said her office went 10 weeks recently with no payment from the state for its Medicaid patients. </p><p>Frustration abounds with area Medicaid providers and social services agencies since the state Department of Health and Human Services rolled out two complicated new computer systems that have resulted in delays in processing food stamps for the hungry and Medicaid checks for providers.</p><p>NCTracks replaces a 35-year-old system that handles the state's Medicaid billing and other billing by various agencies within the department, such as public health and rural health. Planning for NCTracks spans three gubernatorial administrations and rolled out July 1.</p><p>This is the "largest technology project the state has ever had," said DHHS technology chief Joe Cooper. </p><p>NCFAST provides county departments of social services with a unified case management system to determine eligibility and manage the case load of federally funded benefit programs such as food stamps, Medicaid, Work First and child care. It also consolidates many computer systems into one. </p><p>The first phase of NCFAST rolled out in May 2012 with food stamp benefits. </p><p>Together, NCTracks and NCFAST represent $784 million in state information technology projects, paid for largely by the federal government. </p><p>What has been a huge test of the prowess of new technology in the public health sector has also been a monumental test of patience for those who serve the neediest and poorest.</p><p>These computer systems – and their vast statewide implications, reaching into every community – will be subject of a legislative oversight committee hearing Tuesday in Raleigh. Lawmakers will get a chance to directly question top DHHS officials about the new programs' implementations, and what's on the horizon. </p><p><b>Medicaid providers wait </b></p><p>Wilmington-based Oxy-Care Equipment Co. provides home medical equipment for the chronically ill. Owner Clark Robichaux said that during the test phase everything went fine. "When it came to actual production, claims just didn't go through," he said. So he made a call to the help line. "You'd be put on hold, wait for between 35 minutes and an hour, and then once you got somebody to speak to they really didn't know what they were talking about. The staff really wasn't trained." </p><p>In a recent news release, DHHS acknowledged that an already difficult transition was "exacerbated by the call center not being staffed to handle the initial high call volume." </p><p>The program's vendor, Computer Sciences Corp., has added additional call center staff and today the wait time is less than 15 seconds to speak to a customer service agent, the release says. </p><p>But Antolini, of Brush Dental Care, says the wait for responses from the call center hasn't gotten better for her – though the office has since received payment for services to Medicaid patients. </p><p>"Now if you have a problem, with any question whatsoever, they give you a ticket," she said. "I have tickets that have been out since the beginning of July, and I've not received a call back. They just sweep it under the rug as far as I'm concerned."</p><p>Tina Perry, office manager with Seaside Family Medicine in Sunset Beach, said she can't get NCTracks to work for checking a person's Medicaid status, one of its many functions. </p><p>"Every time I use it, it's to check eligibility. There's always a problem. It never tells me if someone is eligible or not. It just gives me an error message every time," she said. </p><p>Still, some providers say what started as a nightmare is slowly turning a corner for the better. </p><p>"Initially it was horrible. It was really awful," said Wilmington Dental Care office manager Libby Cox. "Now it's doing much better. We're getting paid fairly promptly." </p><p>Robichaux, said despite the rough start for his company, once the bugs are worked out, it will be "a really neat system." </p><p>"In all fairness, they have gotten some of their problem straightened out," he said. </p><p>In a random sampling of Wilmington-area Medicaid providers, one provider said she'd had no problems with NCTracks. Monica Smith, certified dental assistant and office manager for Dr. Richard S. Butler in Wilmington, said the office was forewarned of the change. </p><p>"We took the proper steps that needed to be done, and we've had no glitches – knock on wood," she said. </p><p><b>Food stamp delays </b></p><p>The state's other new computer program, NCFAST, stands for Families Accessing Services Through Technology. It's also giving users a headache, though in the past month, the state has put extra effort into helping local departments of social services catch up on their backlogged food stamp cases. </p><p>Last week, for instance, the Pender County Department of Social Services was preparing to box up some 400 cases and send them to the state for assistance with processing. Some of the cases are more than 2 months old, said DSS Director Reta Shiver. </p><p>"We're trying to get our food stamp backlog caught up somewhat," she said. "We're just trying to be proactive." </p><p>In the past two weeks, the state has helped local county departments of social services enter almost 8,000 applications, said DHHS spokesman Ricky Diaz. </p><p>Additionally, Diaz said the state has recently sent "over the shoulder support staff" to Pender, Brunswick and New Hanover counties to assist with the transition. </p><p>"These counties have worked extremely hard to overcome challenges," Diaz said. </p><p>In New Hanover County, assistant DSS Director Christine McNamee said the state support staff moved into her office last week. She said some 220 food stamp benefits were waiting processing for September with another nearly 840 that needed processing for October. Her staff planned to work overtime again this past Saturday to catch up. </p><p>"As we get more and more issues, we won't be so far behind," she said.</p><p>Metro desk: 343-2389</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @StarNewsMolly</p>